no title

Ohio should stick to education standards

Letters Policy

The Dispatch welcomes letters to the editor from readers. Typed letters of 200 words or
fewer are preferred; all might be edited. Each letter must include name, home address and daytime
phone number.
Dispatch.com also posts letters that don't make it to print in
The Dispatch.

FAX

Also in Opinion

Subscribe to The Dispatch

Already a subscriber?
Enroll in EZPay and get a free gift!
Enroll now.

Thursday August 28, 2014 6:22 AM

I read last Thursday’s Dispatch.com article “Nixing Common Core could let some Ohio schools opt
out of state tests” with interest and some surprise that Ohio is considering replacing its new
learning standards with old Massachusetts curriculum standards. Doing so and, meanwhile, developing
yet another set of Ohio standards would be a reversal of progress and a disservice to students.

A revision of Massachusetts standards was near completion when the state joined others in
developing the Common Core. In 2010, our organization commissioned the only independent comparison
of the Common Core standards to that revised version. It found the Common Core comparable in every
way to our updated standards, with some preferable features.

The new Massachusetts curriculum standards incorporate the Common Core, and implementation,
underway since 2011, is moving forward as expected.

Standards, including the Common Core, simply set benchmarks for the knowledge and skills
students should possess. Properly implemented, standards give teachers the freedom and flexibility
to adapt instruction to meet student needs and provide students the tools to be prepared and
competitive for postsecondary pursuits.

If Ohio is serious about following Massachusetts’ lead, the state will not play politics with
its children’s futures by reverting to obsolete standards from another state.